Posts

Iraq Takes Full Control of Kirkuk, Peshmerga React

by

by Aysha Qamar

Earlier this week, the Iraqi army stated it has taken full control of Kirkuk, including the city’s airport and oil field, following a major advance on Kurdish-held territories. According to Al Jazeera, Iraqi security forces had captured the government building in the centre of Kirkuk city with no opposition from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

This action was part of a major operation to retake the oil-rich province, during an escalating dispute that occurred when Baghdad declared a referendum on Kurdish secession illegal. As the Iraqi army advanced, thousands of people, including civilians and Peshmerga fighters, fled the disputed the city, which is said to be home to about a million Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians.

“It seems to be a complete withdrawal from the Peshmerga inside and around the city,” Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford  reported from the outskirts of Kirkuk.

According to Stratford it took only about 15 hours for Iraqi troops to capture the city.

“Standing by the side of the road, there were Peshmerga fighters demanding that their colleagues went back to Kirkuk and continued to try and defend it. But there were also a lot of very frightened people desperate to get out as quickly as possible.”

While no response was immediately met with the capture, the Kurdish Peshmerga General Command (PGC) later issued a warning to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, stating the Iraqi government will pay a “heavy price for this unfairness” referring to its military campaign in Kirkuk, which it described as “a declaration of war against the nation of Kurdistan”.

“We call upon all the real Peshmerga of the country and the resilient and enemy-defeating people to do all they can to resist and defeat the attackers,” the statement said.

While the accusations have been denied by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the PGC has accused some of the leaders of PUK of “treason”, alleging that forces under the party’s control had withdrawn from areas they held.

“Unfortunately, some officials from the … PUK helped this plot against the Kurdistan nation and committed a great and historic treason against Kurdistan and the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Kurdistan under the PUK flag,” the statement said.

The time that it took for Iraqi militant forces capture and seize the city has left Kurdish forces with many questions.

Al-Abadi met the threat with a call to the Peshmerga to collaborate in maintaining the peace in Kirkuk.

“We call upon the Peshmerga forces to perform their duty under the federal leadership as part of the Iraqi armed forces,” he said in a statement on Facebook, urging “all employees in Kirkuk to continue their work normally and not to disrupt the interests of citizens”.

According to reporters, Al-Abadi said he was fulfilling his constitutional duty “to serve the citizens and protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition due to the insistence on holding the referendum organized by those in power in the Kurdistan region in a unilateral step”.

Tensions between the two sides have been rampant since Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted for secession in last month’s referendum. The non-binding poll was held in areas under control of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and in various disputed territories, including Kirkuk.

A lack of agreement on who should control Kirkuk, between the two parties, has created a division since the Kurdish Peshmerga forces first took control of oil-rich Kirkuk, after the Iraqi army fled from attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group in 2014.

New Strategy for Afghanistan Calls for More Troops

by

by Aysha Qamar

“My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like to follow my instincts,” President Donald Trump said in a speech outlining his plan for the 16-year US war in Afghanistan, at the Fort Myer military base in Arlington, Va. “I heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk of the Oval Office.”

Referring to US support as “not a blank check,” Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan that calls for a troop increase and Pakistan to do more to stop terrorists, in a speech Monday night.

“Our commitment is not unlimited, and our support is not a blank check,” Trump said. “The government of Afghanistan must carry their share of the military, political, and economic burden.”

According to the Washington Post, he acknowledged that this “approach is a departure from his campaign rhetoric, and said he would prioritize American security over attempting to ‘dictate’ the Afghan people how to live”.

He has pledged that US troops would have a clear definition of victory in Afghanistan, but did not provide any details on what that would mean.

“The men and women who serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory,” Trump said. “They deserve the tools they need, and the trust they have earned, to fight and to win.”

In his address, Trump avoided various details stating he would not repeat the Obama administration’s mistake of signaling plans to US enemies.

“We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities,” Trump said. “Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on. America’s enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out.”

While Trump has not specified how long for and how many more troops will be sent to Afghanistan, congressional officials have stated an estimate of about 4,000 more than the current 8,400 troops.

“US Marines from India company march as they prepare to depart the American military compound at Kandahar airport, Afghanistan”
Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The extra deployment has been delayed by the Pentagon pending agreement on an Afghan strategy. The additional troops are to serve in two roles: counterterrorism missions and training the Afghan forces.

He also stated that he would give military commanders the authority to act in real time and expand the authorities for US armed forces to target terrorists and criminal networks in Afghanistan.

“These killers need to know they have nowhere to hide, that no place is beyond the reach of American might and American arms,” Trump said. “Retribution will be fast and powerful.”

“America’s enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out,” he added. “I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will.”

Trump also emphasized Pakistan’s role in his plan. The President has threatened to cut off US aid to Pakistan, in order to persuade them to help fight terrorism in Afghanistan- stating they have much to gain from partnering with the effort in Afghanistan and much to lose “by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists.”

“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond,” he said.

While Trump stated that Pakistan has been a valued partner, he also reiterated his beliefs that the country has sheltered ‘terrorists’ that “try every single day to kill our people. We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists we are fighting,” Trump said. “But that will have to change, and that will change immediately.”

Afghanistan’s ambassador to Washington, Hamdullah Mohib said Trump’s words were “exactly what we wanted” because it “takes into account our country’s needs and constraints. We did not want it to be about troop numbers or time lines, but to conditions on the ground,” he said while visiting Kabul. “We welcome this strategy that integrates American military power into achieving our shared goals.”

According to Reuters, “a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban condemned Trump’s announcement that he will keep American troops in Afghanistan with no set timetable for withdrawal.”

“Instead of continuing war in Afghanistan, Americans should have thought about withdrawing their soldiers from Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement issued hours after Trump’s televised speech.

“As long as there is even one American soldier in our country,” the Islamist insurgents would “continue our jihad,” Mujahid said.

#IWillProtectYou: US service members soothe scared Muslim girl

by
Photo credit: Twitter

Photo credit: Twitter

By Mary Bowerman 

USA TODAY Network 

U.S. service members are using the hashtag #IWillProtectYou to show support for a young Muslim girl who believed her family would be forced to flee following Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from the country. Melissa Chance Yassini of Dallas said she came home Dec. 8, to find her 8-year-old daughter packing her bags, “Upworthy” reported. Yassini said her daughter was terrified after she heard Trump call for a ban on all Muslims entering the country following the San Bernardino massacre.  “Sad day in America when I have to comfort my 8-year-old child who heard that someone with yellow hair named Trump wanted to kick all Muslims out of America,” Yassini wrote in a Facebook post on Dec. 9. In response to Trump’s words, Yassini said her daughter began “collecting all her favorite things in a bag in case the army “came to remove the family from their home.” “She checked the locks on the door 3-4 times,” Yassini wrote. “This is terrorism. No child in America deserves to feel that way.”

The post quickly went viral, and it wasn’t long before Army veteran Kerri Peek saw it, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Peek decided to take action.

“Post a picture of you in uniform with the hashtag?#?IWillProtectYou to let these children know that we will not hurt them,” Peek wrote in a Dec. 17 Facebook post. “That they are safe here in America. That we will protect innocents as we always have.”

Peek’s friends answered her call, and soon others did too. On social media, U.S. service members are sharing photos and pledges to make Yassini’s daughter and all Muslims feel safe in the U.S.

On Twitter, one man wrote “No one should be scared to live in a country because of their faith,” with the hashtag #IWillProtectYou.

Yassini said she and her daughter are overwhelmed by the support.

“I have probably received close to 500 messages from various people in our military, from just people,” Yassini told “Upworthy.” “Christians, atheists, Jews, every walk of life, every stage, have reached out to Sofia and I with overwhelming support and love.”